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Definition: Neoplatonism from Philip's Encyclopedia

School of philosophy that dominated intellectual thought between c.AD 250 and 550. It combined the ideas of Pythagoras, the Stoics, Plato and Aristotle, with strains from Judaism, oriental religions and Christianity. Fundamental to Neoplatonism was the concept of the 'One', something that transcends knowledge or existence but from which intelligence and the Soul derive. Neoplatonism's influence persisted through the Middle Ages and enjoyed a revival in the Renaissance, where it influenced early scientific ideas.


Neoplatonism

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(nē´´ōplā'tӘnĭzӘm), ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato . Considered the last of the great pagan philosophies, it was developed by Plotinus (3d cent. A.D. ). It has had a lasting influence on Western metaphysics and mysticism , although its original form was much altered by the followers of Plotinus. Neoplatonism was a viable force from the middle of the 3d cent. to 529, when Justinian closed the Academy at Athens. Although Plotinus is the central figure of Neoplatonism, his teacher, Ammonius Saccus (175–242), a self-taught laborer of Alexandria, may have been the actual founder; however, no writings of Ammonius have survived. Plotinus left Egypt, settled in Rome in 244, and founded a school there. The enduring source of Neoplatonist thought is the Enneads of Plotinus, which were collected and published after his death by his student Porphyry , a Phoenician. Plotinus' purpose was to put into systematic form an idealistic philosophy and thus combat the trends of…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
(nē´´ōplā'tӘnĭzӘm), ancient mystical philosophy based on the doctrines of Plato . Considered the last of the great pagan philosophies, it was developed by Plotinus (3d cent. A.D. ). It has had a lasting influence on Western metaphysics and mysticism , although its original form was much altered by…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Rome
Influential intellectual movement that revived the philosophy of Platonism while injecting it with elements of the greatest philosophies of the Roman Empire. Beginning in the third century C.E., Neoplatonism was the single most important ideology of organized paganism in the Western world. …
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Neoplatonism is the modern name for the last school of pagan Greco-Roman philosophy. It flourished from 200 to 550 CE , when its last teachers died; however, the influence of Neoplatonic doctrines continued in the teachings of Christian, Jewish, and Muslim philosophers. The influence of Neoplatonism…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From The Classical Tradition
The term was first used in the 19th century to designate a period stretching from the career of Plotinus (204-270 ce ) to the closing of the Athenian Academy by the emperor Justinian in 529. Those who partook in this trend thought of themselves as Platonists, adhering to the notion that Plato was…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From Encyclopedia of World Religions: Encyclopedia of Catholicism
Plato (427–347 BCE ), perhaps the most influential writer-philosopher of the ancient world, had a dramatic impact on Christianity, mostly through the movement he inspired known as Neoplatonism. Plato was a student of the philosopher Socrates, the hero of his dialogues. After his teacher's death in…
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Full text Article NEOPLATONISM

From Encyclopedia of Ancient Christianity
I. General characteristics - II. Plotinus - III. Porphyry -IV. Neoplatonism of the 4th c.: Iamblichus and Julian the Apostate - V. The school of Athens and the exegesis of the Parmenides - VI. Proclus and Damascius - VII. Neoplatonism in the Latin West. Neoplatonism is the philosophical current…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
that period of Platonism following on the new impetus provided by the philosophical speculations of Plotinus ( a.d . 204–69). It extends, as a minimum, to the closing of the Platonic School in Athens by Justinian in 529, but maximally through Byzantium, with such figures as Michael Psellus (1018–78) …
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Full text Article Islamic Neoplatonism

From Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy
a Neoplatonism constituting one of several philosophical tendencies adopted by Muslim philosophers. Aristotle was well known and thoroughly studied among those thinkers in the Islamic world specifically influenced by ancient Greek philosophy; Plato less so. In part both were understood in…
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Full text Article Neoplatonism

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Form of Platonism developed by Plotinus in the 3rd century ad and modified by his successors. It came to dominate the Greek philosophical schools and remained predominant until the teaching of philosophy by pagans ended in the late 6th century. It postulated an all-sufficient unity, the One, from…
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Florentine Neoplatonism is the Italian Renaissance revival of Neoplatonism, led by Marsilio Ficino (1433–99) and Giovanni Pico della Mirandola (1463–94), that flourished in 15th century Florence. This renewed interest in Neoplatonism, or the philosophy formulated by Plotinus (205–270 CE ) and…
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